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Understanding Language
Video transcript
PROF. ROS MITCHELL: At the moment, I'm speaking French at home, because my lodger and
her toddler are French speaking. So I'm learning lots of new French for babies bottles, and
potties, and nappies, and all sorts of things that I didn't know about before.
DR. SARWAR JAMIL: Apart from English, I can speak in four other different languages, which
gives me the opportunity to use language in a varied set of circumstances. That I can speak to
people of other communities who live in this town. And I can even enjoy their music, their
play, their literature.
JON GORE: Particularly when I was living in Syria, I needed Arabic a lot for work. And in
Kazakhstan, I did have to use Russian occasionally because when I was there, I found a lot of
people didn't speak any English.
ANNA LI: Before coming here, I used Chinese daily. And I just learned English as a second
language. And now, since I came here, I use English on a daily basis, especially (since) joining
the British Council. I need to communicate. I need to write and read. Everything is English.
MARGITA HYDON: My Slovak reflects on how I use my English. Sometimes it may be a little
bit more flowery and a little bit different.
SARA PIERSON: So for me, language isn't just about fluency. It's about demonstrating that you
are willing to reach out to another culture.
DR. MARIKO KITAZAWA: I'm also interested in language, because it kind of, in a sense, can
represent us. So for example, people can read who I am, or what kind of person I am from how
I speak and what I say. So I am very interested in the role language plays.
PROFESSOR ROUMYANA SLABAKOVA: Multilingualism is diverse. It has many faces. What are
your experiences? Share them in the comments.
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Understanding Language